A pet dog has gone missing from its Churchill home in the wake of a failed police attempt to have it permanently removed from its owner.
Police believe the German short-haired pointer ‘Schiller’ was stolen on Thursday, 25 July between 9am and 5pm while her owner was at work.
A week earlier, the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court had refused a civil application to permanently keep the bitch from the 30 year-old owner after she was found on the Churchill property by police at the bottom of a closed wheelie bin with wood-cuttings, chilli and vinegar.
Morwell Police Station’s First Constable Rod Gillow said police were working to track down the microchipped Schiller and had notified the breeder and animal welfare organisations of her disappearance.
On 5 July, police seized the eight-month-old dog under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act after finding her in the wheelie bin.
But on 19 July Magistrate Clive Alsop refused an application to remove the dog permanently, saying there was no material to indicate she had sustained injuries.
She was subsequently returned to her owner.
The day police seized Schiller, they had also observed a dog chain suspended from a roof truss which ended at ground level, the court heard on 19 July.
Two neighbours had raised concerns about the dog’s living environment and treatment, with one telling the court they had witnessed the owner slap the dog in the face, strike the dog and on one occasion stand on her and balance for 15 seconds.
The owner had told the court the dog was placed in the bin as part of a training exercise for which he had sought advice from the RSPCA and was told as long as she was not in the bin for too long and was not injured, the practice was okay.
He conceded to disciplining the dog by slapping it with two fingers and he regularly took her for exercise in a park.
A friend had described him to the court as a loving and responsible pet owner.
Anybody with information about the dog’s disappearance should phone First Constable Rod Gillow at Morwell Police Station on 5131 5000.
